


i'm just a teenage dirtbag (baby like you)

by allweseeislight



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-17 04:14:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29835861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allweseeislight/pseuds/allweseeislight
Summary: The Hosie Unwind AU. Hope is scheduled for unwinding by her parents, and Josie believes unwinding is her life's purpose. When life throws them together, they'll have to learn how to work together in order to survive.
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson/Josie Saltzman
Comments: 10
Kudos: 52





	1. Chapter 1

The Heartland War never had a winner. There were two sides, and both lost. A war on abortion rights had been brewing for years, but when it finally came to play, no one knew what to expect. One side wanted it banned, the other wanted an amendment legalizing it world wide. The two armies went to war. Parents left their children, and children were left to their own devices. And that was almost scarier than the war itself. The teenage riots started soon after the war was declared. Buildings were destroyed, schools were burned, and kids were assaulting other kids. 

The war dragged on, and it seemed that there would be no winner. When no one surrendered, a compromise was reached. That compromise came in the form of the Bill of Life. The Bill of Life was meant to cater to both sides, and had two parts. The first implemented the practice of “storking.” If a pregnant mother gave birth to a baby she didn’t want, the baby could be “storked,” meaning it could be left on a doorstep. If the mother got away before the family who owned said step made it to the door, then that baby legally belonged to them. But that wasn’t the most alarming part.

The alarming part came in the form of part 2 of the bill. The Unwind Accord. The Accord stated that a child must be kept alive until their thirteenth birthday. However, between the child’s thirteenth birthday, and the day before their eighteenth, the child could be “unwound.” Unwinding was a complicated process, but simple to explain. When a teenager was unwound, their body was taken apart like a car stripped for parts, and each piece of them was placed into a person who needed a transplant. They “lived,” according to the government. They just weren’t whole.

Unwinding was decided on by the parents. They signed a triplicate document. There was the white paper, already with the authorities, the yellow paper that followed the child from the day the order was signed to their unwinding, then the pink paper, which stayed behind. A reminder to the parents that they sentenced their own child to a fate worse than death. The orders were signed, and on a certain day, the cops would arrive at the house-always at night, when the child was asleep-and take them. The child never saw their family again, and vice versa. They would usually be unwound within the next week or two. 

The minute one's parents signed that order, the child’s life was over. But that wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was that the child’s parents, the ones who were supposed to protect them, and love them, had just...given up. Hope Mikaelson’s parents never gave up. They were strong, determined, and they loved her very much. Which was why when she found the order in her father’s desk, while she was simply looking for a stapler, she didn’t believe it. White paper gone, yellow and pink in the desk. The authorities would take the yellow when they came to get her. In two weeks. 

Hope would never call herself a well behaved child. In fact, she was the opposite. She was in detention every other day, she’d been suspended twice for fighting in the past year alone, and she did fight with her parents every day. But they were her parents. Her parents who still told her they loved her every night before bed. Almost every night.

_ “This is not a debate, Hope!” her father shouted at her. She crossed her arms defiantly as he continued, “Tomorrow morning you are going into that school and apologizing to your teacher!”  _

_ “Like hell I will,” Hope said crossly. _

_ “This isn’t funny, young lady!” her Mom added, “That school is the best in the state, and we spend good money sending you there. If they expel you-” _

_ “I don’t give a flying fuck if they expel me!” Hope snapped at her mother, “That teacher was being unfair! She knocked me down five points for no good reason!” _

_ “If that’s the issue then you should have discussed that with her,” Mom said, “What you shouldn’t have done was use crude language to diminish her teaching requirements, then walk right out of class!” Hope chuckled, thinking about her teacher’s face. What a riot. _

_ “This isn’t a joke!” Dad snapped, “I feel like we’ve had this conversation almost every night. It’s the same cycle over and over again! You refuse to apologize or take any responsibility for your actions. At this point, I’m not sure what we’re to do with you.” _

_ “Maybe you should have me unwound!” Hope said, sarcastically of course. The silence that followed that statement was near excruciating. Mom looked away, Dad studied his feet. Dad almost never studied his feet, eye contact was of near utmost important to him, “What? Did I say som-” _

_ “Go to bed,” her Mom said in perhaps one of the coldest voices Hope had ever heard. Hope turned to her Dad, who just gestured to the stairs with his head.  _

_“Whatever,” Hope said. She walked to the stairs, and made it halfway up before adding, “I’m still not apologizing!”_ _She didn’t get a response._

That conversation had been on March 2nd. The order had been signed today, on the 4th. The police-Juvey Cops-as the kids called them, were coming to the house on the 16th. Which meant that in twelve days, her life was over. 16 years old and she had an expiration date, just like that. 

Hope was angry. She wanted to throw something, or hit something-no, someone. She wanted to punch her Dad when he made her favorite for dinner that night. She wanted to slap her Mom when she kissed her goodnight. But for once in her life, she didn’t. She ate her food, she said she loved her Mom back, because even through it all, she did. Her mission wasn’t for her to get angry. It was for her parents to feel guilty.

“Hey Dad, I got an A on my Math test,” Hope said, coming home from school one day, “My grade is really improving. I could have a B plus by the end of the year.” An end of the year Klaus Mikaelson knew his daughter wasn’t going to live long enough to see. Her Dad took the test, and studied it. Hope was sure she saw tears brimming. He cleared his throat and said,

“That’s...that’s wonderful, sweetheart.”  _ Sure it was _ . Her Dad put the test on the fridge. Hope wanted to rip it off everytime she saw it. She bet her parents would just keep it around as some kind of sick reminder after she was gone. They’d probably show it to their friends.  _ She was a promising young child _ , they’d say,  _ what a shame we had to let her go _ .

“Gross,” she said to herself as she entered her house. It was March 15th. The cops were coming to the house tomorrow, and her parents hadn’t said a thing. Hope wondered if she should confront them. It was her last night to do so. And they were being particularly quiet tonight. They both barely touched dinner, so Hope took it upon herself to eat their plates. This was most likely her last home cooked meal ever. She knew she had to take advantage of it. 

But dinner came and went, and soon Hope was getting ready for bed, brushing her hair with slow movements. Would whoever received her hands brush theirs the same way? Hope wasn’t that sure how unwound parts worked. No one in her family had ever accepted them. Hope’s old science project partner had an unwind hand. 

Whoever had owned it was once a magician. Before getting that hand they could barely catch a ball. Now they had such good coordination doing card tricks, they were the captain of the baseball team. Hope wondered how her hands would help someone. She’d been told they were pretty. Maybe someone would get married, and during their wedding, Hope’s hand would finally get a ring...no! No, this was all wrong!

“Hope?” her Mom asked, breaking her thoughts. Hope turned and saw the woman staring at the bed, “Are you okay, honey?”  _ Of course I’m not okay! You just signed my execution papers! _

“Yeah,” she lied, “I’m fine.” She got in her bed, her hands shaking as she moved the covers. She was climbing under them when her Mom started fixing the covers, “What are you doing?”

“Just tucking you in,” she said.

“But you never tuck me in.”

“I just thought we could change it up tonight,” Hayley said.  _ Because it was the last night? _ It couldn’t be, though. The Juvey cops always came at night, meaning her parents would tuck her in, kiss her goodnight...then probably never see her again. Assholes. 

“Are you comfortable, love?” her Dad asked from the door. They were both here? That was new.

“I’m fine,” Hope said, though she was a little uncomfortable with how much her Mom was tucking her in. The comforter felt stuck to her at this point, “Mom? I think that is enough.”

“Of course,” she murmured. She gave Hope a kiss on her cheek and said, “Goodnight, baby.”

“Goodnight, Mom,” Hope said. She was then given another surprise when her Dad came in and kissed her too. It was always one or the other. They alternated!

“Sweet dreams, love,” he said.

“Thanks, Dad,” Hope said. When they were both almost out, she decided to try something, “Um, hey guys?” They turned. 

“Yes, sweetheart?” Dad asked.

“Do you think maybe next weekend we could go to the Italian place downtown? I’ve been doing so well in school, so I thought that it could be fun.” Both her parents paused. She could see her Dad’s hands shake. Yep, she had them.

“Oh,” Mom said, “Um, we’ll think about it sweetie.”  _ Sure you will _ .

“Kay!” Hope said, “Goodnight guys!” she smiled big, while her parents looked like they were gonna throw up. If that was her last moment of victory, she would take it.

In the morning, Hope got ready for school as usual. The only difference was that she didn’t plan on going. She dumped all the notebooks out of her backpack, and replaced them with a few changes of clothes, toothpaste and toothbrush, all the tampons she had left in her bathroom, and a hairbrush. She wore sneakers instead of the heels she usually wore. 

It wasn’t her first plan to run away. Hope had grown up kind of...privileged. She wasn’t made for life on the streets. But she couldn’t be unwound. Her seventeenth birthday was in a little less than two months, which meant all she had to do was survive for 14 months on her own. It wouldn’t be easy, but it couldn’t be impossible. 

A bunch of kids had kicked AWOL before and survived. And some of them even made good careers. One of the church pastors had been an AWOL, and now he spoke up for unwinding. Hope would never become a pastor, but it was nice to know she’d have career choices. It was a lot better than being a collection of parts.

“Hope, sweetie?” her Mom called from downstairs, “You’re gonna be late!”  _ Who cared? This was her last day of school ever! _ By Hope’s eighteenth birthday, high school would be nearly over. 

“Hope!” Dad called this time. He sounded annoyed.

“I’m coming!” she said. She swung her backpack on and grabbed her phone from her desk. She went down the stairs, taking in the smell of her Mom’s rose perfume. It was probably the last time she was ever going to smell it. 

“Hey guys I’m gonna be a little late coming ho-” she started as she descended the steps, but stopped at the sight of the Juvey cops at the door. One of them was holding the yellow paper in his hands. He pulled it up and read,

“Hope Andrea Mikaelson, by the signing of this order, your parents and/or legal guardians have retroactively terminated your tenure.”  _ Shit shit shit. _ “You are hereby remanded to the Virginia Juvenile Authority for summary division, also known as unwinding.” Hope’s heart sank. There were cops at the door, and her parents stood by at the side. There was no escape. She could see tears in her mother’s eyes, threatening to fall. Hope wanted to slap her. She wanted to slap her so bad. She took a step back.

“Look, we can do this the easy way, or…” the cop said, then gestured to his partner, who was cocking a tranq gun. If she got shot with that gun, it was over. She’d be knocked out, then she would wake up in a harvest camp.

“Hope, sweetheart,” Dad started, but Hope didn’t want to hear it.

“Just shut up,” she said, her voice shaking. She could feel tears forming, and she willed them away. She was  _ not _ going to cry. Not now, not here.

“Come along,” the cop said, opening the cuffs on his belt, “We don’t have all day.”

“Stay away from me,” Hope said, taking another step. The other cop was pulling the gun out of the holster.

“Hope,” Mom said, “We love you, we’re doing what’s best-”

“No you don’t,” Hope said, “You stopped loving me when you signed that paper.” Her Mom was fully crying now, both her parents were. Assholes, absolute assholes, the both of them.

“Alright, we’re done playing. Hands over your head,” he said, getting the cuffs ready. But he wasn’t taking her. Hope wouldn’t let him. She just needed to trick him. She lifted her hands over her head, avoiding her parents. The first thing the cop did was grab her phone. He tossed it carelessly to the side, breaking the screen. No matter, it wasn’t like Hope could’ve taken it with her anyway. The cop grabbed her arm, and just when he was about to slap the cuff on her wrist, she shot her leg out, and kicked him in the shin. 

“Gah!” he exclaimed. He fell to the ground, and the other cop was about to aim his gun. Hope knew her time was now. She turned and ran out the back door, not turning back. She hopped the fence, and picked up the pace when she heard the siren of the police cars. She was running solely on fumes. Her feet were burning up as she continued to run. Yup, definitely a good idea wearing sneakers. She tore through the neighborhood, her feet pounding on asphalt. The car was following her, and the neighbors were starting to notice.

“Hope?” her neighbor Pedro asked. She used to babysit him, “What’s going on?”

“Can’t talk right now, Pedro,” Hope said, picking up her speed. She was really going to miss him. She picked up her pace and left the neighborhood. She could hear the police car getting closer, so instead of going towards town, she went the other way. Towards the freeway. She was running down a 45 road, which meant everyone was going at least 60. If they were that fast here, they’d be faster on the highway. But the Juvey cops had superiority. They blared their sirens, and cars parted.

“Ohhh, this is bad,” she said. But she couldn’t stop. Pedestrians were getting out of their cars, wondering what the scene was.

“Hope Mikaelson?” one woman said. It took Hope a second, but she eventually recognized her. Her math teacher that had started this whole mess. Screw her! “What are you doing?”

“I need to go,” Hope said, ignoring her. As she ran through the stalled cars, with the Juvey cops on her tail, she realized that she recognized a lot of the cars. This was the freeway she took to school in the morning. A bunch of students who went to her school were there. Some of them looked sympathetic when they noticed her predicament, but others...she could see the others laughing at her.

“They’re finally unwinding Mikaelson!” one of them shouted from his window. When did everyone in this goddamn town get so  _ mean? _

“Rest in pieces, Mikaelson!” a girl said. Hope was pretty sure she’d shoved her in a locker once. Maybe she deserved the comments, but it didn’t make them hurt less. She continued maneuvering through cars. Hope moved away from the mess, and was nearly out of it all when she was hit roughly by the side mirror of a Mercedes. She fell onto the road, landing badly on her side. Maybe they wouldn’t unwind her if she had a giant bruise…

“Nowhere to run now!” the cop who’d come to her house said. His shin seemed to be doing better as he walked over to her. He had his partner’s gun, and Hope knew he wasn’t afraid to use it. From her spot on the road, Hope visibly gulped. She was battered and bruised, and he had a gun. There was no happy ending for her here. 

She shakily pulled herself to her feet, and it was then when she saw the people in the car that had hit her. There was a woman and a man in the front, as well as a girl in the back who looked a little younger than Hope, and was dressed all in white. She looked at her with wide brown eyes. She was terrified. 

“Put your hands up!” the cop yelled, cocking the gun. He was getting closer. If there was a time to act, it was definitely now. She reached for the car door and yanked it open. The girl was visibly shaking, while the woman in the front worked with her seatbelt. Hope grabbed the girl, who exclaimed,

“Hey! Let me go!” Hope didn’t let go. She pulled and pulled until she realized the seatbelt was getting in the way. As the girl yelled for help, the man in the front made a move. Hope knew it was wrong, but if this didn’t work, she was as good as gone. She curled her fist, and punched the man right in the face. The girl screamed. Hope turned back to her, unclipped the seatbelt and pulled the girl out, “Let go of me!” Hope placed the girl in front of her body, right in the line of fire of the cop. 

“Mikaelson,” he growled.

“Come and get me,” she said, clutching her hostage close. One thing a Juvey cop wasn’t able to do was harm an innocent. She took a deep breath and faced the cop, praying with all she had that the random girl she’d taken would cooperate, whoever she was.


	2. Chapter 2

The definition of a tithe was one tenth of one's annual salary, and it was given to the Church that they attended. The Parker family was very devout. They tithed their earnings every year. Even she tithed the small ten percent of her earnings from working at the small guitar shop in town. It wasn’t a lot, but Pastor Stefan said it was always appreciated. 

But tithing didn’t always mean money. All the prominent families in the church offered one tenth as a tithe. Tithes were born for unwinding. They lived a good thirteen years, then on the day after their birthday they would be taken to the harvest camp, where their body would be used to touch the lives of many deserving people around the world. 

Josie was the 10th of her family. There was her grandmother and grandfather, then they had six kids, one of them being Josie’s mother. Josie’s twin sister Lizzie was born ten minutes before her, making her the ninth, and Josie was lucky number 10. Josie was meant to be tithed on her 13th birthday, but her sister grew very ill. It was a blood cancer, and Josie’s bone marrow was the cure. It was a long process that had gone past the twin’s 13th and 14th birthdays. But now, Lizzie was healthy, and at her fifteenth birthday, Josie was healthy enough to go to the harvest camp.

Her family was throwing her a party with whatever she wanted. There would be live music, all the food she wanted, and her whole family was going to be there. She’d also gotten permission to invite anyone she wanted from school. She’d invited her whole class, though for some reason, several of her friends had been on the fence about it.

“Um Josie? Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m not sure if I can,” one of her friends from the school play said, “I mean, what present would I even get you?”

“There’s no need for presents,” Josie said, “You just come and have a good time. I know  _ I _ will.” Her friends seemed content if she was, and they all RSVP’d yes. 

The hall they had the party in was beautiful. The room was decorated in shades of yellow and green, Josie’s favorite colors, and every napkin had her name, Josette Lucas Parker, stamped on them. It was perfect. The party was a huge success, and Josie danced all night. She could barely feel her feet when it was time to cut her cake.

Happy Birthday Josie was written in big letters on the vanilla cake. Usually she and her sister would share a cake, but due to the circumstances, her Mother thought it best that Josie get this party to herself. Lizzie would celebrate her birthday over the weekend. Josie was sad she wouldn’t be able to attend, but she would be there in spirit, she would say.

“Oh you’ll be there,” a jerk at school had said, “As my grandmother’s left foot!” Everybody had laughed. But it didn’t bother Josie at all. It wasn’t his fault that he didn’t understand Josie’s higher purpose in this world. Some people just couldn’t be taught. 

“Make a wish, sweetheart,” her Mother Jo said as she lit her candles. Some people found it weird, but Josie liked having the same name as her. She knew at least three John Juniors at her school, so why was it weird? She remembered being called JJ as a child. Lizzie couldn’t say Josette, so she’d been JJ than Josie. She kind of missed JJ. It was a classic. 

Josie blew out her candles, wishing for health and prosperity for her family. It was what they deserved. As the cake was cut and served, Josie looked at the time. It was already 10. She could’ve sworn it was 8:30 a minute ago. How had the time moved so fast? Her family was getting ready for speeches. Speeches were at the end of the party.

“Thank you so much to everybody who came out tonight to celebrate our sweet Josette,” her grandfather was saying, “She has always been the very best of this family, and I am so honored to know that her life will impact the ones of many around the world.” Applause followed.

“Thanks grandpa,” Josie said. Her Mom went next, and Josie was sure that she could see tears in her eyes. Why was she crying? It was a happy day!

“Oh Josette,” she said, “It has been my greatest joy to watch you grow into a fine young woman, and I know that-” her Mom’s speech was cut off when a loud laugh cut through the room. Josie looked in the direction, and watched as her Uncle Kai stood up, clapping wildly. Uncle Kai was what her Mom called, the “black sheep” of the family. Josie wasn’t sure what that meant, but apparently that was who Uncle Kai was. It couldn’t mean anything too bad, though. Josie loved her Uncle Kai. And now he was here, giving her a speech.

“Is there a problem, Malachai?” Grandpa asked gruffly.

“Oh no, no, well, actually yes,” he said. He walked up to the rest of the family, taking staggered steps. He was clearly drunk. He took the champagne glass from Mom, pointed it to her and said, “Here’s to my niece Josie, who is sadly getting taken from us way before her time.” His comment was met with gasps, and Josie winced. What did he mean before her time? Her time was two years ago!

“Kai,” Mom said, “Stop it.” Her uncle shook his head, and looked at Josie. She could see him cry. She’d never seen him cry before.

“I love you, kiddo,” he said, “And I’m so sorry.” He turned to the crowd of party goers, and lifted his glass, “Cheers!” Nobody answered him. He shoved the glass back to Mom and stormed out of the room, with such composure that made Josie realize he wasn’t drunk at all.

“I am so sorry about that sweetheart,” Mom said once he was gone, “Why don’t you have a slice of cake with your friends? I’ll go check on him.”

“That’s alright,” she said. Suddenly she didn’t feel too hungry, “Can I talk to Pastor Stefan?”

“Of course honey,” she said. Josie left her family and went to find Stefan. He’d left earlier for some quiet, and she found him sitting by the coatroom.

“Hey,” he said when he saw her, “Party over already?”

“Not yet,” Josie said, “I just wasn’t in a celebratory mood. Recently, I’ve been having...impure thoughts about the unwinding. Selfish ones, even.”

“There are no selfish thoughts,” Stefan said, “Tell me about them.” Josie sat down on the couch next to him and said,

“I’ve been feeling nervous about the unwinding. I uh...is it selfish of me to be scared?”

“Of course not,” Stefan said, “It’s normal to fear the unknown, especially when it comes to matters where nobody can tell you exactly what’s going to happen.”

“Like...death?” Josie asked. 

“You’re not dying,” Stefan said, “You’re just...going to live in a different way.” Josie nodded.

“Right,” she said, “Yeah, of course.” It was the same words she’d been told since she was five years old. And she believed them, it was just that every other tithe was thirteen. Would she be the same in the eyes of God since she waited? She wanted to ask that, but she didn’t want Stefan to think she was stupid. Because it was a stupid thought, right?

“Alright, what else is on your mind?” he asked.

“Nothing,” Josie lied, “Just that.” He shook his head and said,

“You know you don’t have to lie to me. Everything you tell me is confidential. Always has been.”

“I know,” Josie said, “Do the other tithes you’ve spoken to...did they feel the same way?”

“Yes,” he said, “You’re not alone in feeling like this. And the best thing about arriving at the harvest camp is that you’ll be with others just like you.”

“They won’t do it right away?” Josie asked in confusion.

“They usually wait a few weeks, just to make sure you’re comfortable,” Stefan said, giving her shoulder a comfortable squeeze, “Was there anything else you wanted to ask?”

“Will it hurt?” Josie asked. Her body was going to be taken apart. That surely required some pain, right? But Stefan shook his head.

“You won’t feel a thing,” he promised, “And they’ll keep you awake the whole time. Nothing will be done to you without your consent.”

“Cool,” Josie said. She smoothed her dress and said, “My uncle just gave somewhat of a speech. He told me he was sorry. But what did he have to apologize for?” 

“It can be hard to let go,” Stefan said, “While you will get to live on and positively impact the lives of others, your family might not know where you’ll end up.”

“Right,” Josie said, “That’s why we did the bone marrow transplant before I was unwound.”

“Exactly,” he said, “You don’t need to be afraid Josie, you’re going to be fine. But your family doesn’t understand it the way you do, that’s why your uncle is so upset.”

“Are you sure that’s the only reason why?”

“I would never lie to you, Josie,” Stefan said, “I promise you, that’s why.” Josie trusted Pastor Stefan. He’d been there for her through everything. When she used to cry about how her life was going to be stolen, he was the one who calmed her down and reminded her of her purpose. When Lizzie was dying and they couldn’t find a match, he sat with Josie during every marrow extraction. He was the closest thing she had to a…

“Josie?” came her sister’s voice. She turned from Stefan and saw her sister walk in, “Mom’s looking for you. She wants to take a family picture before everyone goes home.”

“Sure, I’ll be right there,” she said. Her sister left, and Stefan said,

“Anything else, kiddo?”

“No, you’ve answered all I needed. Thank you,” she said.

“Of course. Get to it, I don’t want to keep anyone waiting.”

“Yeah, me neither,” Josie said. She got up from the couch and went to join her family. She was both glad and surprised to see Uncle Kai with them. Josie stood right in the middle, and smiled for the camera. The flash felt nearly blinding as the photo was snapped. 

After pictures, Josie finally allowed herself to have a piece of cake. It was vanilla, her favorite. She ate, and talked with her friends, but the party did eventually end. She said goodbye to her friends, and soon she was at home, laying in her bed. It was her last night, and she was just now realizing how comfortable it was. She’d definitely miss it. 

She wondered if she’d be able to feel the bed of whoever else received her body. Would she feel her hands on their pillows, her feet in their covers. No-they wouldn't be  _ her _ hands or feet. They would belong to whoever got them. That was what Josie found so interesting about unwinding. She knew organ transplants had been a thing for longer than she’d been born, but the transplant of actual hands and feet was always shocking to her. How did that even work? These hands were hers, how could they just belong to somebody else?

“Josie?” she heard. She looked towards her door and saw her Mom, “I was just coming in to check on you. Can’t sleep?”

“Not really,” she said. She turned her lamp on and said, “I think I just had a little too much cake.” 

“Would you like me to lay with you?” she asked. Josie nodded, and her Mom climbed into the bed with her and asked, “Did you enjoy your birthday, sweetie?”

“I did. Thank you for such a nice party,” she said.

“You don’t have to thank me, I’m glad you liked it,” Mom said, “I do have to apologize for your Uncle Kai. He behaved very inappropriately.” 

“It’s fine, Mom,” Josie said, resting her head on her shoulder. Her shoulders. Were shoulders given to people, or were they cut off from the arm? Were there people that needed only shoulder transplants? She shook the thought away, and took in her Mom’s lavender smell. It could always help her feel better.

“It’s not fine, he knows better than to make a scene like that. Especially tonight…” 

“Why did he say he was sorry?” Josie asked. Maybe her Mom would be able to answer her questions a little better than Stefan had. But she didn’t. She just said,

“Don’t let that bother you, honey. It’s not important,” she said. She stroked Josie’s hair and said, “I’ll be driving you to the camp in the morning of course. Would you like it if Pastor Stefan came too?”

“Yes,” Josie said, “I’d like that very much.”

“Wonderful,” Mom said. She must have already invited him. As she continued to stroke Josie’s hair, the same queasy feeling came back. Would they shave her head before they unwound her?

“Mom?” she asked.

“Yes, dear?”

“I’m sorry, but I think I want to be alone tonight.” She stopped stroking. “Sorry, I uh, I just need some time.”

“Right, of course. I’ll be in my room if you need me,” she said. She climbed out of the bed and gave Josie a kiss on the head, “Goodnight, sweet girl.”

“Goodnight Mom,” she said. Her Mom turned the lamp off and left. The rest of the lights in the house turned off soon after. Josie laid back on her bed, running a hand through her hair. She hoped whoever got it next liked it. She’d always been told that she had very pretty hair.

Breakfast came early the next morning. Josie’s family let her sleep in, but the sound of all of them talking and eating easily woke her up. She slid out of bed and got ready in the bathroom. She brushed her teeth, making sure they were as white as possible before she got to the harvest camp. She wanted to make a good first impression. 

She brushed her hair out, then changed out of her pajamas into her silk tithing whites.  She’d had a pair ready from when she’d been born, but she’d grown three inches between thirteen and fifteen, so she’d gotten this new pair just last week. Josie had surprised her whole family with her late growth spurt, but here she was at five foot eight inches. It would have been a huge shocker had Lizzie not been two inches taller. Her Mom wasn’t that tall, but maybe her Dad was. She’d never met the man. She wondered how he felt about human tithing. Did he find it as honorable as the Parker family did?

“Josie honey?” her Mom called from downstairs, “Are you awake?”

“I’m coming, Mom!” she called. She slid into her white sneakers and went downstairs. All her breakfast favorites were on the table, and her whole family, sans Uncle Kai, was eating.

“Where’s Uncle Kai?” she asked as she slid into her seat next to Lizzie.

“He wasn’t feeling well,” Mom said, “Eat up, honey. Pastor Stefan will be here soon.” She handed Josie a plate with one of everything on it. Josie took the plate and dug in, eating carefully to avoid getting food on her white clothes. She finished just as Stefan came through the door.

“Are you ready to go?” Mom asked, and Josie nodded eagerly. All her doubt from last night was starting to vanish. This was her purpose, and she was finally seeing it through. She said goodbye to her Aunts, Uncles, and Grandpa, but the hardest goodbye was with her sister.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?” Lizzie asked.

“I’m sure,” Josie said, “It’s a long drive, I don’t want to bother you.” Plus, Lizzie was terrible on road trips. She asked “are we there yet” more now than she had as a child.

“I’m gonna miss you, Jo,” she said. Josie smiled at her and said,

“No need to miss me. I’m not dying, remember?” she asked. Lizzie nodded and said,

“Yeah, yeah. Of course not…” her voice started to shake, so she quickly exited the room. Josie swore she could hear her cry. She looked up the stairs for any sign of her Uncle Kai, but he didn’t come.

“Sweetie,” Mom said, “It’s time to go.” Josie stepped out of her house and climbed into the back of her Mom’s Mercedes. She looked out the window as the car pulled farther and farther away from the house. Stefan, who was up front with her Mom asked,

“You doing okay, kiddo?”

“I’m fine,” Josie said. The car moved towards the interstate. Josie closed her eyes and took a breath, allowing her body to relax. She was nearly calmed down when she heard a loud thud, and her Mom slammed on the brakes. Josie’s eyes shot open, and she was met with the sight of a scared looking girl. 

Her auburn hair was in a mess on her head, and her eyes looked crazed. She was dressed in a school uniform with a backpack hanging messily from her shoulder. Josie tensed in her seat, not liking how this girl was looking at her, and getting especially nervous when she yanked the door open, and started grabbing at Josie’s shoulder.

“Hey! Let me go!” she exclaimed. The girl kept pulling at her, but wasn’t getting anywhere because of the seatbelt, “Mom!” Her Mom was struggling with her seatbelt, but Pastor Stefan was ready. He reached out to take Josie, but the girl acted faster, and she hit him right in the jaw, “Hey!” The girl was getting angrier, and she ended up unclipping Josie’s seatbelt before dragging her out. 

“Stop it! Let go of me!” she exclaimed, but the girl was a lot stronger than her, despite being at least half a foot shorter. The girl moved Josie in front of her, and Josie gulped when she realized she was right in the line of fire of a cop.

“Mikaelson,” the man growled. Was that her name?

“Come and get me,” the girl said, holding Josie close to her. Josie could smell her breath, hot on her neck. She shook in her hands. 

“Put the girl down, and come quietly!” the cop shouted at her. She felt the girl jab her with a finger as she said, 

“I’ll shoot her if you come any closer.” Josie wanted to scream that she didn’t actually have a gun, but the girl seemed strong enough to kill her in a different way.

“Please let me go,” she said almost inaudibly, “I, I have to get to the harvest camp. I’ll miss my harvest, you’re ruining everything!” All of a sudden, everything changed. The girl loosened her grip on Josie, and for a second, the scariness left her eyes.

“You’re an Unwind?” she asked in disbelief.  _ Unwind? _ Of course not! Unwind was the term for the lowest of the lows whose parents had no other choice but to get rid of them. She glared at her kidnapper and exclaimed,

“I’m a  _ tithe! _ ” The girl gave her a confused look, but it quickly vanished as the cops got closer. She held Josie closer to her and said, 

“I’ll shoot her! Get away!” Josie had had enough of this savage. She looked at her arm on her neck, and clamped her teeth on it as hard as she could, “OW!” The girl dropped her grip in her pain, and Josie went back to her car, but was cut off when a Toyota careened into it, starting a domino effect of cars crashing into cars.  _ Oh no _ . 

She looked back at the girl, who’d lost her leverage from Josie running off, but was taking advantage of the collisions to get away. Now unhanded, Josie went back to her car after narrowly avoiding a Cadillac coming right towards her. Wincing at the loud crash behind her, she went to her car which had tipped over the road. Her Mom looked pretty banged up, and Stefan was getting out of the car. Josie ran up to him and asked,

“Pastor Stefan? Is Mom okay?” Josie asked him. The man wiped some blood from his mouth where Mikaelson punched him, and said in a haggard voice,

“Josie…”

“Yeah?” Josie asked, He grabbed her shoulders and said the one word that she never would have expected to come out of his mouth,

“Run!” Josie froze in place, and some silence fell over them before she asked,

“What?” Stefan pointed to the woods off the side of the freeway and said,

“You need to go. Now.”

“But Pastor Stefan-”

“Go now!” He shouted before physically pushing her away from the car. Josie stumbled back on the now chaotic highway, moving right out of the way of a car zooming away from the wreck. She looked back at Mikaelson and almost screamed when she saw the girl with a gun in her hand, shooting a dart right at the officer who’d been threatening her earlier. The officer fell, and just when it seemed like Hope was in the clear, another officer readied their gun. 

_ Good, _ she thought,  _ now someone can stop this maniac _ . But Josie’s curiosity just led to her causing more problems for herself, since as she got closer, she ended up right in the line of the gun. The dart got her right in the shoulder, and she stumbled forward, landing on the ground. As her senses began to fade, the last thing she saw was Mikaelson’s hands grabbing her, and taking her away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope everyone liked the intro to josie! more hosie scenes are coming up...

**Author's Note:**

> A new AU for you guys based of "Unwind" by Neal Shusterman! I hope you guys like this one :) 
> 
> Twitter: @wandashosie


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